Seperate Worlds
by JustAShimmer
Summary: Six years after the trilogy, Will Parry uses a reconstructed Subtle Knife to go on one last journey. But will their reunion be as romantic as Lyra expected?


**Seperate Worlds**

_Lalala random little one shot. Please no flame.. I know it's probably not what you guys want..and it's not the Will we know.. but I felt like writing it after a dream type thing I had.. yeah. hope you at least kind of like it.  
><em>_The characters aren't mine.. ~Jas_

Midsummer's Day. 3am.

It was over six years since Lyra Silvertongue had to part with Will. The boy who was, as far as she was concerned back then and still thought was a possibility now, her one true love. Each year she'd had trouble sleeping for the week leading up to Midsummer's Day, when she would go to the Botanical Garden to be close to him as they promised, and that night was no exception. She had only fallen asleep at 1am and was already stirring from her dreams, which had also been haunting her.

They weren't bad dreams as such, just ones that upset her. They were memories more than dreams to be precise. Memories of Iorek, the King of the bears and her best friend. Of the alethiometer and when reading it was simply second nature. Of the many worlds that she visited with the Angels... And the main places her thoughts seemed to gravitate towards were Ci'gazze and the world with the Mulefa, as they were the most significant in the lives of both her and Will.

But those days were gone and she missed them like crazy, even six years on. The only connection she had with them was Pan, her pine marten daemon, and the hope of somehow seeing Will in the Botanical garden on a Midsummer's day. Or maybe even with Gracious Wings after she was done with this life. But as seen as Pan wasn't technically someone else, it could have all just been a dream. After all, years had passed, memories had began to fade and Lyra was a changed girl. She was nineteen years of age, attending St Sophia's. She can't even remember herself being such a bratty, uneducated child. Thinking back made her laugh. And cry at the same time.

At just gone 3am, Lyra was awakened by a disturbance in her room. She groaned and sat up, slowly opening her eyes. But what she saw was just her normal room. No difference. She sighed and rubbed her eyes before looking at her clock. She probably wouldn't sleep again that night. Just as she was about to turn on her bedside lamp, a strange beam of light appeared in her wall.

But, it wasn't just light. It was a window. Something that she thought she would never see again. It was a window to another world. Pan appeared from beneath the duvet and sniffed the air. "kirjava.."

"Will...?" She whispered and got up out of bed, slowly making her way toward the light. As she got up, her heart began to beat wildly. It can't be him, the Knife is gone! Maybe he remade it.. or didn't break it in the first place.. Her mind whirred at a speed she could not keep up with as she watched the light flicker; movement from the other world.

As she stood there, a person began to emerge from what appeared just to be her bedroom wall. And when she caught sight of a hand with only 3 fingers, she knew it had to be Will. When he was finally entirely in her world, Lyra stared. He was no longer the boy that she had fallen in love with, but she could feel herself heading that way once more. His face only had traces left of his youth, but his dark hair and piercing gaze remained.

Her eyes began to well with tears of joy, she had dreamt of this day since they were seperated for what she thought was for good. "Oh Will!" She cried, her voice filled with love, and ran to him, "you've come back!-" But it seemed Will did not share the same sentiments. After putting the Knife in it's holder, he caught her at arm's length. Kirjava easily dodged a similar action from Pantalaimon before sitting at her human's side.

He chuckled. "You haven't changed one bit." He swallowed and began to speak again. "Lyra, I'm sorry. I didnt mean to come straight into your room like this. I just wanted to drop something off." He dropped his hands from her shoulders and took a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. It was worn, almost like it had been read several times, but nonetheless he handed it to her. "It's from me.. so I don't want to be here while you read it."

Lyra stared at the paper, but did not take it from him. She furrowed her brow a little. "If it's from you, can't you just tell me? I mean, we haven't spoken for so long, we've got so much to catch up on. And if you leave, we can't. So just tell me whatever it is you've got to.. then I'll go get us a drink or something." She tried to smile, but something told her he wouldn't agree to it. She had so many questions she wanted to ask him, but it didn't look like they'd be answered.

He sighed. "Alright. I'll tell you what it is, but I'm not staying past that." Lyra nodded for him to continue and he shoved the letter into his pocket. "It's going to sound stupid.. because i came all the way here to say it.. and I've kind of made life more difficult for you now.. but.. I need you to forget about me."

"Huh?" the girl looked at him with puzzlement written across her face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means exactly that. You have to forget about me." Lyra scowled at his answer.

"And what makes you think that I haven't already?" She raised her voice. "You've got the audacity to come in here and insinuate that I'm not already way over that? You don't know anything about me anymore!"

Despite the fact that he was getting yelled at, Will smiled. She was right, after all. "You talk like a grown-up." At that she faltered. They both had really changed so much. "And anyway, even just by your reaction now, I can tell that you haven't forgotten. And that in about 9 hours time, you'd be off to the gardens."

"So maybe you're right. But even still. After all we've been through together, after them," she motioned toward their daemons, "after everything we felt back then.. you mean it's all gone? You mean to say that you want me to forget about the best times of my life?"

"It's the best way. If you haven't forgotten by now, you've gotta start trying or you never will."

"And why would I want to? What's so wrong about me holding onto that tiny shred of hope that someone out there loves me? We said _forever_, Will. Do you not understand what that word means?" She glared at him, before laughing darkly and adding to herself, "I suppose no man does."

"Just let it go!" He almost yelled, getting quite frustrated with her stubbornness. "It can't happen. We live in two seperate worlds, Lyra. Living two seperate lives."

"But when said lives were so closely bound for so long, it's impossible to remove all the ties completely, so surely when those worlds collide, even if it's never to happen again, you can allow for even just a small measure of that original passion!"

He shook his head without saying a word. Which, in a way, made it all the more heartbreaking. He placed a hand on the wall and pinched the bridge of his nose with the other, before letting that hand drop, and looking back up again.

"Look, Lyra. What I'm trying to say is.. I've.. I've found someone else. I've found someone in my world that I'm going to be happy with.. and I just wanted to let you know. Mary.. you remember her? She suggested that.. well. That you might appreciate it."

He caught her gaze and they looked into each other's eyes for that moment, neither saying a word. Almost as though conversing with their minds. She glanced at his permanently damaged hand that was placed on the wall next to the doorway.

"How could _you_ forget, with that constant reminder?" She said quietly. He just shrugged in response.

Lyra assumed a pleading look as the words finally sank in. He'd found someone else?_ Of course he has, just look at him! _She argued with herself. But she knew he was right. That she needed to move on. He was happy now, although he didn't exactly look it. But still, she couldn't accept it that easily.

She looked away, unable to look at him anymore. _Don't go_, her mind chanted, _Don't leave me alone again_. As though he had read her thoughts, he beckoned for her to come to him. She quickly closed the distance between them and threw her arms around his neck, burying herself in his scent, inhaling it, memorising it, for it would be the last time she'd get the chance to. He patted her back with the hand that was not resting on the wall, causing traitor tears to form in her eyes; she knew he was actually going to leave her for good this time.

Still holding onto him as though he was her last chance at survival, she felt him shift beneath her. She thought it was all over, but to her surprise and delight, his other arm snaked around her waist. This made her want to hold him all the more close, if it had been possible. Maybe he had missed her after all.

They stayed in that position in silence for what seemed an eternity. The only sound she heard was his deep breathing – the only sound she cared to hear, for it meant that he was still there. Though her arms were around him, and his around her, she felt as though he would disintegrate right there and she would wake to find herself alone. Again. This thought resurfaced with a vengeance as his arms slowly began to release her.

She bit back a sob, gently squeezed his shoulders one last time and lowered herself from her tiptoes, on which she didn't know she was until that moment. She suddenly felt very small. A certain sadness had come over him, she saw, as he stood back and looked at her face for a long while, as though he too wished to memorise something about her. But that was probably just wishful thinking. Smiling sadly, his gaze fell as he softly brushed a stray lock of hair away from her face. He then audibly sighed and looked through the window into his world.

"I guess this is it. Goodbye, Lyra. Take care of yourself. Forget." And without looking back, he left.

She stood, staring at the slice in the air as he vanished through it and it closed, attempting to collect her thoughts. That really was it. After attempting and failing to hold them back, she gave up and let her tears finally fall. Pan leant against her leg and whimpered. "Goodbye, Kirjava." Lyra nodded. "Goodbye, Will." She whispered to the empty room. "But I'll never forget."

_Let me know what you think! Maybe I'll write it in Will's perspective if you're interested.. get more of an insight as to why he's acting like this. Tell me if you are in a review, and if I get enough I'll write it! Much love to my readers ~Jas_


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